Forgotten at sea
by duller
Summary: Jace is a pirate - sailing the Caribbean Sea with his brother Sebastian. However, Sebastian has been silent for weeks, and Jace is getting restless. It isn't until one night, when Jace saves a young redheaded girl from drowning, that things start to get interesting.
1. Chapter 1

Though the sun was long gone, Jace had not hesitated to take his shirt off. It was always warm on the ship Alicante, but tonight was different; Tonight it felt as if nature was laughing down at them. Yesterday had been great. Or maybe 'great' came off as a bit of an exaggeration to some people, but not to Jace. The storm had not lasted long, yet it had been the most enjoyable time on Alicante in weeks.

Jace loved storms. He loved the ruthless waves and the soaring wind. Some people said he had a death wish. That was the only explanation they could come up with when the co-captain of the ship started smiling like a madman as soon as they noticed changes in the weather. It didn't matter that they had nearly lost a man when the waves had hit them. They were pirates, after all. They all knew what they had signed up for when they joined the crew.

However, as the young man leaned against the railing of the ship, he could not suppress the annoyed sigh that had been building up in him ever since the storm had stilled. Ever since their odd visit in Idris a few weeks ago, their captain had kept to himself in the captain's quarters. Jace had been delighted at first: Sebastian Morgenstern rarely left the helm, and his absence meant that Jace finally had the opportunity to steer the ship. It had been great fun at first, but now Jace was growing sick of steering the ship in circles. When had Sebastian stopped sharing his plans with him? Were they not friends? Were they not brothers?

Jace could still remember the day the two of them had fled their father's ship, _Circle_. They had been young back then, 15 at most, but their years on Valentine Morgenstern's ship had not been for nothing. Soon, the boys had earned the respect of many sailors in Idris, their talent in swordplay serving them well to attract the attention of interesting people. Four years later they were sailing a ship that was entirely their own.

Sebastian and he – they were a team. Even though Valentine had always enjoyed reminding Jace that he was in fact not his son, Sebastian had always been there for him. He had always assured Jace that they were brothers in all the ways that mattered. Now, after four weeks of hearing nothing, Jace was starting to think that those promises were just empty words.

Swallowing back the sour taste of betrayal, Jace watched the shimmering water beneath him. The night had finally fallen upon them, and with it, the silence. Besides the occasional snoring from the night watch - Simon Lewis, who had of course fallen asleep on his post - the ship was quiet. Jace was just about to head back to bed when he spotted something drifting in the water not far from the stern. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered him. After all, this was the Caribbean Sea – Jace didn't care what hid beneath the surface of the turquoise water as long as it didn't decide to start walking the earth as well. However, the flicker of something red in the water triggered his curiosity.

With the elegance of a skilled swordsman, Jace made his way to the back of the ship without making a sound on the ever so creaking deck. He didn't want to wake Simon. Not yet, anyway. The younger boy was disturbingly annoying and perhaps Jace's least favourite person on the ship. Jace rested his elbows on the railing and peeked down on the figure in the water. What he saw made his lips part in surprise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Firstly, I'm so sorry about all grammar mistakes, guys. Also thank you to those of you reviewing! **

**I'm new at this so bear with me, okay? Anyway, enjoy!**

It was a girl. A redheaded one at that, which was surprising enough in itself. Such looks were rare in these parts, and especially among those who lived at sea. She was asleep – or knocked out, it was hard to tell – and floating on what looked like a piece of wood.

Jace hesitated. After all, he was a pirate. They stole treasures, not girls. Not to mention that he was quite sure Sebastian would not approve of him bringing a female on board of Alicante. Jace determinedly shoved the thought away. Sebastian might have been the captain, but this was also Jace's ship. When Sebastian had offered to be the captain, Jace had approved on the condition that they were going to do this as a team. _Locking yourself inside of your quarters sure as hell isn't what teammates do_, Jace thought bitterly. With that, he swirled around, fixing his golden eyes on the dark-haired boy asleep on the main deck. "Hey, wake up, Lewis!" he shouted.

"Wha- who?" Simon, who was leaning against the gunwalls whilst drooling slightly, flailed his arms helplessly a few times when Jace said his name. He looked around groggily, trying to find the source of the voice that had woken him from his sweet dreams. Jace rolled his eyes. "Get up, you idiot. Come and help me with this girl." Simon scowled at Jace through his messy bangs, but got up nonetheless and stalked over. The boy was no fonder of Jace than he was of him.

"What girl-" he started, but abruptly cut himself off. Simon's mouth was now forming a perfect 'o' as he stared down at the redhead below them in amazement. Jace nodded impatiently. "Yeah, that girl. Now, help me get her aboard." Simon did not ask any more questions while he adjusted a rope for Jace to use to hoist himself down the side of the ship. For that, Jace was grateful. He had no more clue who this girl was than Simon did. Frankly, he didn't know why he was helping her in the first place.

Rescuing the girl was hardly a problem. Jace carefully eased himself down with the rope, just as carefully as he wrapped an arm around the girl's slim waist and tenderly lifted her over one shoulder. While climbing back onto the ship with the help of Simon's non-existing upper-body strength to pull them up, he could not help but notice the way her heart beat with a steady rhythm against his chest; it was as if she felt safe there. Against his will, Jace caught himself wondering what she was dreaming of. Because although _Alicante _was hardly comparable to Valentine Morgenstern's ship, everyone knew to fear the pirates. They were not good people. Jace was not _good. _Whatever the girl was dreaming of, Jace doubted it was about pirates.

As soon as he was back on the quarterdeck, he carefully laid the girl down on the ground before him. Up close, he could see that the girl was strikingly pale in the moonlight, and that her skin was freckled. She was as small and skinny as a thirteen-year-old was, yet there was something about her that made Jace guess she was older.

Simon was already crouching beside her, checking her temperature and examining her body. It was ridiculous, but Jace couldn't help but wanting to remove those pale, dirty hands from the body of the girl. This, of course, made him curse himself inwardly. He wanted to protect her and he hadn't even met her yet? _It's late, you're just tired, _he assured himself and tried to shake of the bad feeling. Bringing this stranger aboard had begun to seem like a really bad idea.

Jace scratched the back of his head and fixed his eyes on the body of the girl. She was barefoot, wearing nothing but a dirty cotton shirt and a pair of ragged, grey pants that seemed to be a couple of sizes too big for her. "Pirate clothes," Simon observed, as if he had heard Jace's thoughts. The young boy stood, lifting his gaze to look at Jace. It was true. Those were most definitely the clothes of a sailor. If the girl was a pirate, it would make sense that her clothes were too big for her. She was so small, and those who lived at sea rarely cared much about what kind of clothes they stacked up on.

"It's so strange," Simon said thoughtfully. He bent down again to put a thumb under her chin, and cautiously lift her face upwards so that the moonlight shone upon every single feature of her face. "She's in perfect condition. Not even a little bit dehydrated. It's like she just decided to take a nap on that wooden board. Her body doesn't show any signs of how she lost consciousness in the first place."

Jace frowned, hoping that the girl would be able to tell them as soon as she woke up. No sooner had this thought passed his mind, before the girl made a startled sound, suddenly gasping for breath as if she had just woken up from a bad dream. She blinked a few times while her eyes adjusted to the darkness, but suddenly her eyes were on Jace. They were the most piercing green he had ever seen. They made it hard to look away.

Jace cleared his throat, his mouth curling up in a nonchalant smile.

"So you finally decided to wake up, eh?"


End file.
